Will Man Utd be banned from Europe next season?

Cameron Smith

4 Apr 2024 11:10 BST
3 min read

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Erik ten Hag, Man Utd — © IMAGO

Manchester United are aiming for another season of European football, but their hopes of achieving this goal could be ruined by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival at the club.

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The British billionaire is now a minority shareholder at Old Trafford and his INEOS team will head up all football operations at Man Utd, including transfer activity.

However, he is also the majority shareholder at Ligue 1 club OGC Nice and this could throw Man Utd’s ability to participate in European football into question.

Can Man Utd and Nice both participate in European competition next season?

According to UEFA’s new regulations, clubs under the same ownership umbrella will be able to compete simultaneously in European football next season but, crucially, they will not be allowed to play in the same competition.

As Man Utd and Nice are currently both poised to qualify for the Europa League courtesy of their league position, this could become a major problem.

With Nice in a better position in Ligue 1 than Man Utd are in the Premier League, the French side would get priority, meaning the Red Devils would not be able to compete in the Europa League and would instead be demoted to playing in the Europa Conference League.

However, some reports suggest that UEFA are willing to relax their current rules in the event that Man Utd and Nice both qualify for the same European competition. In that scenario, it has been reported that they will need to provide evidence that they don’t share any joint management.

A similar situation is set to occur with Manchester City and Girona, both of whom are likely to qualify for the 2024-25 Champions League. They will also need to prove that they are separate entities.

RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg were famously investigated in 2017, but UEFA concluded that the two clubs showed sufficient separation in their 'operational structures.' Man Utd and Nice would need to do the same thing.